MVA protest march in Mumbai: Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray, Varsha Gaikwad lay wreaths at Hutatma Chowk

NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar and Chhatrapati Shahu at Hutatma Chowk on Sunday, September 1.

Leaders of the opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) led a march on Sunday from the iconic Hutatma Chowk to the Gateway of India in south Mumbai to protest against the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue collapse incident in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district. The statue, which honoured the 17th-century Maratha warrior king, was constructed at Rajkot Fort in Malvan tehsil, around 480 kilometres from Mumbai. It had been unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 4 last year during the Navy Day celebrations.

The protest by MVA, organised to express the outrage of Maharashtra's citizens over the statue's collapse just eight months after its unveiling, saw prominent leaders, including Nationalist Congress Party (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, Congress state unit president Nana Patole and Mumbai Congress head Varsha Gaikwad. The march began with these leaders laying wreaths at Hutatma Chowk, a memorial dedicated to the martyrs of the 'Samyukta Maharashtra' movement.

NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Rajesh Tope and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sunil Prabhu stated that the march was meant to give voice to the public's anger and frustration over the statue's collapse, which they view as a significant failure of the ruling establishment. Prabhu emphasised that the protest remained peaceful, with no incidents of violence reported.

The protest march, which commenced shortly after 11 am, included notable figures such as Kolhapur Congress Member of Parliament Shahu Chhatrapati, NCP (SP) Baramati lawmaker Supriya Sule and legislator Anil Deshmukh. Participants in the march carried placards condemning the collapse of the statue and shouted slogans against the Eknath Shinde-led state government, holding it accountable for the incident.

A bust of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was placed at Hutatma Chowk during the march, symbolising the protestors' respect and reverence for the legendary warrior king. Sharad Pawar, one of the key leaders of the protest, walked a portion of the route before entering his vehicle, as the march made its way to its final destination at the Gateway of India, a couple of kilometres away. The demonstration highlighted the deep-seated frustration among the people of Maharashtra and underscored the ongoing political tensions surrounding the statue's collapse.

(With ANI and PTI inputs)